One of my biggest gripes with the Android Market (and mobile app stores in general) is that apps often have lite versions, essentially limited editions of the full app. These lite versions make it harder to find the real app, and a seemingly easier solution would be to simply give users a free app and allow them to buy add-ons for it as they go.

Well it seems Google has finally decided to implement this in the Android SDK via "in-app purchasing." Devs can bake it into their app now thanks to an update to the SDK, though users won't be able to access it until later this quarter.

It goes without saying that this should boost Android apps' disappointing profits quite a bit - as anyone who has ever used an iOS device can attest to, that Mighty Eagle in Angry Birds or that extra track in Tap Tap Revenge can seem like an impulse buy when it's just $0.99 and a single tap away.

Comments

http://androidpolice.com Artem Russakovskii

No lite apps and no "key that unlocks my other app" apps. Also, as someone else pointed out, this will help prevent piracy as the pirates wouldn't have a paid app to distribute and cracking the unlocking mechanism would be more complicated in almost every scenario.

godsfilth

ive been at work all day with no internet (damn snowacalypse) so forgive me if this has been addressed but does google keep track of in-app purchases because i would hate to buy and app/item and then have the game dev close their authentication server and not be able to access the app and prove i bought said app/item

Jim Scimonetti

My biggest gripe is they don’t take. Paypal.

Rowena Scicluna

Not sure how this will work out for those of us who live in countries not yet supported by Market, and cannot buy any apps.